THEY have been changing the guard at Crystal Palace so often in the past few months even some of their long-suffering supporters might struggle when it comes to deciding which name to stick on the back of their replica shirts.

So, while it was only last January that Matt Jansen left Selhurst Park for Ewood, he is not expecting to see too many familiar faces when Palace visit Blackburn Rovers in a vital First Division game tonight.

Financial problems - slightly eased, presumably, by the £4 million fee Rovers handed the London club for Jansen's services - have been Palace's biggest handicap.

And uncertainty over the club's future off the field cannot have helped Steve Coppell in his efforts to put together a decent side on the pitch. The manager, in his fourth spell with the club, has refused to allow the problems to beat him.

But the Palace scene has been constantly changing, even in the matter of months since Jansen left.

"I would struggle to recognise the names at the moment," said the striker of his last club.

"There are a lot of young players coming through, along with one experienced name - that's Andy Linighan, who is still there. Most of those I knew have left and there are a few fresh faces.

"But it should be a good game and I am looking forward to it."

After Saturday's draw with Grimsby, Jansen acknowledges how important it is for Rovers to come up with a victory.

"We desperately need a good result to get back up amongst it. But I think we are capable of it," he said.

"It's just been a bit of bad luck.

"We have dominated games but we just haven't got the results. We have to put results on the table and, hopefully, we can do that (against Palace)."

There is a lot of pressure on Rovers, especially in front of their own fans at Ewood. For they are expected to beat most teams in the First Division.

"Expectations are greater," said Jansen. "But it's a game of football and you have to block out whatever is around you and just play football.

"We have the players who are good enough to win this league easily but we have to put that into results."

Like other players, Jansen felt Martin Taylor was unlucky to be sent off against Grimsby last Saturday and that really put Rovers up against it with only nine men and nearly half an hour to go.

"I thought we showed a lot of character (to hold on for a point)," he said.

"It's difficult when you are playing with two less men."

Rovers' disciplinary record could rank alongside most, until Saturday when two dismissals plunged them into the red.

Disciplinary points, however, are of minor importance compared to League points which must be the only thing on Ewood minds at the moment.

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